AUSTIN, TX – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) applications for the eight Texas areas designated as having veterinary shortages. Applications may be submitted through April 2, 2020 by 5:00pm (ET).
The VMLRP is authorized by the National Veterinary Medical Services Act and helps qualified veterinarians offset a significant portion of debt incurred while pursuing their veterinary medicine degree in return for at least three years of service in a designated veterinary shortage area.
To be eligible to apply to the VMLRP, an applicant must:
- Have a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), or the equivalent, from a college of veterinary medicine accredited by the AVMA Council on Education;
- Have qualifying educational loan debt as defined in 7 CFR 3431 Section 3;
- Secure an offer of employment or establish and/or maintain a practice in a veterinary shortage situation, as determined by the Secretary, within the time period specified in the VMLRP service agreement offer; and
- Provide certifications and verifications in accordance with 7 CFR 3431 Section 16.
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) will offer a webinar for interested Texas veterinary applicants on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 6:30-7:30pm (CT). The webinar will provide guidance on how to apply followed by a Q&A forum. To register for the webinar, please email authorized_personnel@tahc.texas.gov and include your name and email address in the body of the email.
For more information about the FY 2020 VMLRP application process, visit https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-applicants or contact vmlrp.applications@usda.gov. While the TAHC does not administer this program, comments or questions related to the shortage areas may be directed to roger.parker@tahc.texas.gov.
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The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) was established in 1893 as the Livestock Sanitary Commission and charged with protecting the state’s domestic animals “from all contagious or infectious diseases of a malignant character.” TAHC remains true to this charge while evolving with the times to protect the health and marketability of all Texas livestock and poultry. Learn more about the TAHC by visiting www.tahc.texas.gov.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]